Karen Zalamea, Herbarium (after Flora de Filipinas) (series), 2024–ongoing. Cyanotype on watercolour paper, 9 inches x 12 inches. Courtesy the artist.
Walter Phillips Gallery is pleased to present an artist talk by Karen Zalamea, recipient of the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography 2025. Taking place during the artist’s awarded residency, Zalamea will discuss her broader practice as well as the series Herbarium (after Flora de Filipinas) (2024-ongoing) that she will continue at Banff Centre. Reflecting on the history of Spanish colonial botany in the Philippines, Zalamea’s work considers plant life, its significance in the establishment of historical empire, and its entanglement with place and identity.
The Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography supports one mid-career Canadian artist working in photography annually to undertake a fully funded residency at Banff Centre. Most recently offered as a bi-annual award to artists who have previously been enrolled in a Visual Arts residency program at Banff Centre, the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography will now take place yearly and is open for application to all mid-career Canadian artists working in photography.
Created by the friends and family of the late artist Barbara Spohr, this award is intended to encourage the development of Canadian contemporary photography by providing financial and creative assistance to an artist whose work has made a significant contribution to the field.
This event is presented in partnership with Exposure Photography Festival and is made possible through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Government of Canada and Government of Alberta. Banff Centre would also like to acknowledge the friends and family of the late artist Barbara Spohr whose contributions supported the creation of the Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography.
